Do-Gooders Blog

YWCA to show off new building renovations

April 27, 2012 Leave a Comment

CEO Holly Comer shows off one of the 12 new two-bedroom apartments that were part of a $4.5 million renovation of the YWCA of Northwest Georgia in Marietta. The apartments, which will provide for women who are victims of domestic violence or sex abuse, are part of the 2-year-old $5.4 million capital campaign the YWCA has raised so far. Staff photo by Jon-Michael Sullivan

The YWCA of Northwest Georgia will show off its newly renovated building to supporters and volunteers at a celebration tonight.

The agency, which serves victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, spent more than $4.5 million renovating the half-century-old building, located at 48 Henderson St. in Marietta, near the intersection of Whitlock Avenue and South Marietta Parkway.

YWCA Chief Executive Officer Holly Comer said that is part of the $5.4 million the agency has raised so far in its 2-year-old capital campaign.

“In this economy, that’s pretty good,” she said.

The renovated building includes 12 new residential units. The two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments average around 1,000 square feet and were built on the site of the YWCA’s old indoor swimming pool, which was closed in 2007. Comer said the agency was able to build the apartments for less money because of discounts on furniture, cabinets and other amenities.

“It’s just like they’re living out in the community,” she said.

The apartments are available to women coming out of abusive relationships, Comer said. The YWCA helps women with child care and other needs, like transportation, while living in the apartments. Women pay up to 30 percent of their gross adjusted income to live there.

The residential units will replace the apartments the YWCA currently leases in the area.

The renovated building also includes a large conference room that be divided into three smaller rooms. It features artwork from metal sculptor Marygrace Bianco, a former Marietta resident who was sexually abused as a child.

The building also features a renovated child therapy room filled with stuffed animals.

“We feel it is important to work with the children to eliminate that cycle of violence,” Comer said.

Comer estimated that between counseling, group therapy and housing, around 1,000 women and children will use the renovated building in a year.

One woman who was assisted by the YWCA said she is impressed with the rebuilt facility. Christy, who asked that her last name not be used, came to the YWCA’s shelter in August because it offered more services than a shelter she stayed at in northeast Georgia.

Christy said she escaped a man who she’s been married to for a year.

“He blacked my eye and broke my nose,” she said. “I couldn’t even sleep. He would wake up in the middle of the night and be mad about something I said earlier.”

When she came to the YWCA, the organization put her son in daycare, helped her look for a job and gave her a prepaid cell phone, Christy said.

“Anything you need, they have a way to find it,” she said. “They just have a real good support system.”

The YWCA is looking to raise $7 million in its capital campaign. Comer said its next project is to renovate its domestic violence shelter. Comer said the shelter, the location of which the YWCA keeps secret to protect victims, has 32 beds in 10 rooms, with only one bathroom for everyone to share.

“It’s 30 years old,” Comer said. “It’s seen better days.”

The shelter renovation would include a new dining room, a larger living room and activity rooms for children and teenagers.

Improving conditions makes it easier for women to heal from their abusive situations, Comer said.

S.A. White Oil Company President Kim Gresh, chair of the agency’s capital campaign, said it was important for the YWCA to complete one project before it could start another in order for it to avoid debt. Raising the remaining money will be among the topics discussed at the meeting tonight.

“Hopefully we can wrap this up pretty soon,” Gresh said.

(Reprinted from the MDJ, April 26, 2012. Written by Geoff Folsom)

Filed Under: Do-Gooders Blog, [Featured], [PostToSocial] Tagged With: holly comer, ywca

Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech at East Cobb Park on May 5th

April 25, 2012 Leave a Comment

Five years ago Sean Freiburger, a child with Apraxia, and his mom, organized the very first “Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech” in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 10am, area residents will continue Sean’s walk at East Cobb Park with local mother, Rachel Goldschein, and her son with Apraxia, Sammy Goldschein, to help bring awareness to the motor speech disorder as well as raise funds to benefit the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA), a 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity.

“I am coordinating the Greater Atlanta Area Apraxia Walk to honor Sammy and to honor all of the other children with Apraxia in the area who work just as hard as he does. I am also coordinating this walk to raise awareness, money for research, and to bring the Apraxia community closer together so that we can build a ‘family,’” said Goldschein, Greater Atlanta area walk coordinator.

“This is one of the few diagnoses that I did not have a road map for, nor local chapters to turn to get support. When Sammy was diagnosed, I did not know where to go, who to call, or what to do. For these very things, I am so grateful for CASANA and for my mother’s online support group. Without either, I would have never had so much information nor would I have known what to do for Sammy. I am so excited to be able to meet other families like mine at the walk and to bring the community together.”

The walk, dedicated in honor of Sammy and other local children with Apraxia, is open to all adults and children. On-site registration and check-in will begin at 9am. Anyone interested in participating in the “2012 Greater Atlanta Area Walk for Children with Apraxia” should contact Goldschein, at savyrach@hotmail.com OR visit the website at: http://www.apraxia-kids.org/atlantawalk for more information, to register or to make a donation.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a challenging and complicated neurological speech disorder in children. This little known disorder makes it difficult or impossible for children to accurately produce sounds, syllables, and/or words despite having a good understanding of language. The Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech is held as a means to heighten awareness and to benefit CASANA; all proceeds from the Walk will benefit important funding for apraxia programs and research.

The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA), based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and founded in 2000, is the only national non-profit public charity exclusively dedicated to the needs and interests of children with apraxia of speech and their families. CASANA’s mission is to improve the systems of support in the lives of children with apraxia so that each child is afforded their best opportunity to develop speech. CASANA supports this mission by promoting awareness through Walks held all over North America; providing high quality information and support through the Apraxia-KIDS website and online communities; conducting multiple educational workshops, webinars and a national conference each year; and funding treatment research. For more information on CASANA and Childhood Apraxia of Speech, visit the Apraxia-KIDS website at http://www.apraxia-kids.org.

Filed Under: Do-Gooders Blog, [Featured], [PostToSocial] Tagged With: Apraxia, East Cobb Park

“Sustainability Night” at Walton High School This Wednesday

April 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

The Fresh Living Club will be hosting Walton’s inaugural “Sustainability Night” in its theater and theater lobby, Wednesday, April 25 from 5:30-8:30pm, 1590 Bill Murdock Rd. This is a drop-in and self-guided “expo” type event. Various booths will located outside of the theater highlighting food, fashion and transportation to showcase how individuals can become eco-conscious and practice environmental responsibility in their everyday choices. Inside the theater rolling video clips will be shown throughout the evening so guests can come and go and be inspired by what others are doing around the world and learn how to be more sustainable in their own lives. Whole Foods will on site presenting their Whole Trade food: bananas, pineapples and peppers.

This will be an active learning environment, as there will be volunteers at every booth to answer questions and share their personal stories of love for the environment. Additionally, attendees can sign pledges to be more eco-friendly, such as “I pledge to ride my bike to school/work 100 out of the next 365 days” and then receive how-to follow up cards to help them accomplish their pledges.

Raffle tickets are $1 each and the prizes include: MARTA passes, a helmet, a Whole Foods gift card, a Seventh Generation laundry care package, a Nature’s Path snack package, a blackberry bush plant, a completely sustainable outfit designed by fashionable club members, accessories like headbands and bracelets, cosmetics and body care products, reusable shopping bags and water bottles, a t-shirt, some books (used and new), and more!

Visitors are encouraged to donate $1 admission at the door. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Chattahoochee Nature Center’s Unity Garden, which donates food to an Atlanta food bank.

Filed Under: Do-Gooders Blog, [Featured], [PostToSocial] Tagged With: Sustainability Night, Walton High School

East Cobb Celebrates Earth Day

April 18, 2012 Leave a Comment

Did you know the first official Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970? It was inspired in part by the devastation and government inertia to an oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA. The hope was that as more people were educated about the earth more would be done to prevent damaging events. This year’s Earth Day is Sunday, April 22 and will be celebrated by more than 500 million people and several national governments in 175 countries. East Cobbers don’t have to travel far to show their love for the planet. Here are some Earth Day events and random acts of green in and around East Cobb:

Saturday, April 21

Spring Bird Walks. Kennesaw Mountain is noted as one of the South’s most visited flyways and many rare and beautiful birds have been observed in the park. The walks will be guided by either Giff Beaton, author of Birding Georgia, A Guide to Finding Birds in Georgia, or Chuck Saleeby. Each walk begins at the Battlefield’s visitor center parking lot, rain or shine. 7:3oam. The walk is approximately 2.5 miles and takes about 3 hours. Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, 900 Kennesaw Mountain Drive, Kennesaw. More info: 770-427-4686, ext. 0.

Whole Foods Earth Day featuring Nifty Crafting with Recycled Materials. Merchants Walk. 1-3pm. Special Guests: Chattahoochee Nature Center and Rachel Faucett of Handmade Charlotte, www.handmadecharlotte.com, will be demonstrating how to make super nifty crafts out of recycled materials. Local goodies will be featured, plus a planting station where the kids can get their hands dirty.

River Rendezvous sponsored by the Watershed Stewardship Program and the Sierra Club Cobb Centennial Group is looking for volunteers who want to have fun and be outdoors while donating their time to a good cause. This annual event looks at water quality at 30 sites along Rottenwood Creek. Volunteers will collect samples for lab analysis, perform water quality testing and habitat surveys and clean litter from the creek. Afterwards, join us for a lunch cookout. Sierra Club provides hotdogs and hamburgers as well as vegetarian options, and volunteers are asked to bring a side dish or dessert to share. All ages welcome. Free. Registration required. 8am-2pm. Water Quality Laboratory, 662 South Cobb Drive, Marietta. More info/to register: 770-528-1482 or water_rsvp@cobbcounty.org.

ECCA Second Quarter Adopt-a-Mile from 9-11am at Woodlawn Publix parking lot near Kinko’s. Show your community spirit by helping ECCA clean up Johnson Ferry Road. Community Service hours will be given. If it is raining, we will reschedule. For more information, call 678/524-4255.

Dickerson’s 4th Annual Electronics Recycling Day. 10am-4pm. Last year we saved 11 tons of metal from the landfills. Cell phones, batteries, scrap metal, appliances, motors, televisions*, computer monitors*, bikes, grills and so much more. Check out the full list of acceptable items online at http://www.federalrecyclers.com/Writings.html. Dickerson Middle School is located at 855 Woodlawn Drive NE, Marietta.

Sunday, April 22

10 Great Herbs for the Garden. Chattahoochee Nature Center, 1pm – 2:30pm. Join Unity Garden Coordinator, Libby Lintel to learn more about growing herbs. Have fun with a lively game of herb trivia, information on raising herbs in north Georgia, and a tour of the Kaiser-Permanente Unity Garden. Following the tour, visitors are welcome to grab a trowel and help out in the garden.

Van Michael ‘Likes’ Earth Day - On Earth Day, Sunday, April 22^nd, Van Michael Salon will donate $1 to the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper fund for each ‘like’ on their Facebook Earth Day post. (www.facebook.com/vmsalon).

Catholic Earth Day 2012 at Ignatius House Retreat Center. Open to the public and people of all faiths. Activities begin at 2pm and include a 5pm Mass and a meal with locally sourced produce. The public is welcome for a few hours or the whole day. Guest speakers include local farmers, presentations on the stewardship of the land and inner city gardening. The Ignatius House Retreat Center, Sandy Springs, 6700 Riverside Drive. RSVP at www.ignatiushouse.org To learn more about Catholic Earth Day and resources for caring for creation visit http://www.facebook.com/CatholicsCaringforCreation.

Composting Critters (Worm Bins!)** at Chattahoochee Nature Center. 1 – 2:30pm. Ages 5 – Adult (children age 15 and under require adult supervision) $15 General Public/$5 CNC Members (price per family, admission not included). In this class, dig deep into vermicomposting! Discover how easy it is to set up and maintain your own worm bin by creating one to take home in this class. **Advanced Registration required by April 19. To register, call 770-992-2055 ext 237 or email scheduling@chattnaturecenter.org.

Free Yoga at WellStar Health Place. 2pm. Open to public. Bring a towel or yoga mat, sunscreen and sunglasses. 330 Kennestone Hospital Blvd, Marietta.

Spring Bloomers Tour at Chattahoochee Nature Center, 3 – 4:30pm. Enjoy a relaxing and informative hike through the grounds with CNC Environmental Horticulturist, Lisa Cole, to explore the beauty of nature during this exciting time of year.

Earth Balloon at Chattahoochee Nature Center from 3 – 4pm. All Ages. There’s no better way to celebrate Earth Day then getting inside the Earth! Join a CNC naturalist and climb inside Keep Roswell Beautiful’s Earth Balloon to discover what makes this planet so amazing!

Filed Under: Do-Gooders Blog, [Featured], [PostToSocial] Tagged With: Earth Day Activities East Cobb

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